Former Miss Universe Canada pauses pageant midway to call out contestants' costumes for cultural appropriation

The Miss Universe Canada 2026 pageant halted midway when Ashley Callingbull, the 2024 titleholder and first First Nations Miss Universe Canada, interrupted the program to call out two contestants for their costumes that appropriated Indigenous cultures.

Per PEOPLE, Callingbull is a Plains Cree woman from the Enoch Cree Nation. She was co-hosting the 2026 Miss Universe Canada pageant on Aug. 8 with Sonny Borrelli, the national director of Miss Universe Canada, when she asked to pause the program right before they announced the pageant's top 20 contestants. 

"I wanted to acknowledge something. If we can turn the music down just a little bit," Callingbull said. 

"With Miss Universe Canada, me being the first Indigenous First Nations Miss Universe Canada, that was such a huge honor. One of the biggest dreams of my life was coming here and fulfilling that," she continued. 

"But sometimes, there are mistakes that are made," she said. "During the national competition, the costume competition, there was cultural appropriation that was done towards Indigenous peoples. And I saw this right away. I wasn't there. I just saw it on video."

The national costume competition took place on Aug. 4 as one of the preliminary rounds leading up to the Miss Universe Canada 2026 coronation night. 

During the competition, as shown in the livestream by CBC Indigenous, Karisa Haverkamp showed off her costume, which featured a turquoise, black, and white feathered headdress with a red handprint on her cheek. 

Another delegate, Jasleen Kaily, came onstage with two braids and in a two-piece costume with brown fringe covering her thighs, traditional boots called mukluks that are worn by Indigenous communities, and a maple leaf cutout on her back. 

On coronation night, Callingbull said her first reaction after seeing the costumes was to call Borrelli and the Miss Universe Canada team. 

"Immediately, the listened...They heard exactly what we need to do to change that," the beauty queen said. 

"It's 2026. We should know better. But most importantly, a part of reconciliation is that we educate and learn and understand and move on from these things in a good way," Callingbull said. 

Sharing a clip of the coronation night program on Facebook, Callingbull encouraged her followers to use their voice to "challenge, educate, and inspire respect."  

Following Callingbull's call, Borrelli instituted guidelines and cultural liaisons "so that every culture, every year will be honored with respect and pride..." she continued. 

After she spoke, Borrelli addressed the audience, saying, "On behalf of all of us at Miss Universe Canada, it was not our intent to offend anybody. And if we did, we take full responsibility. We will learn from it. We will make it better. We will make it right."

He then invited Callingbull to be the official liaison to the pageants costume competition moving forward. 

In its statement, the Miss Universe Canada organization wrote, "The national costume segment is intended to celebrate creativity, heritage, and identity. However, we recognize that every design requires deep care, respect, and continuous evaluation."

The organization then thanked Callingbull for holding them accountable and said they are implementing a "comprehensive costume guide" to set "clear guidelines and standards for all future pageant cycles to ensure every presentation is thoughtful and respectful."

Both contestants have also apologized for their costumes. 

On Instagram, Haverkamp wrote, "I acknowledge and recognize that my outfit for the national costume caused hurt and offence to people in the Indigenous community. I am proud of my own great grandmother and her resilience and how much she was there for my dad and desired to share that with Canada and the world."

She added that she had learned from the experience and will keep standing up and speaking "for all women who have lost their voice because of violence, trauma, and oppression."

According to CBC Indigenous, Kaily also apologized through a since-expired Instagram Story, where she wrote that she never meant to "disrespect or misrepresent Indigenous culture" and just wanted to "recognize and celebrate one of the First Peoples of Canada."